Ten ships of the Royal Navy have carried the name HMS Spitfire, while an eleventh was planned but renamed before entering service. All are named after the euphemistic translation of Cacafuego, a Spanish treasure galleon captured by Sir Francis Drake.

Also
  • Spitfire was a gunboat that the garrison at Gibraltar launched in June 1782 during the Great Siege of Gibraltar. She was one of 12. Each was armed with an 18-pounder gun, and received a crew of 21 men drawn from Royal Navy vessels stationed at Gibraltar. Brilliant provided Spitfire's crew.[5]

See also

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Citations

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  1. ^ Hepper (1994), p. 52.
  2. ^ Hepper (1994), p. 55.
  3. ^ Demerliac (1996), p. 142, #1143.
  4. ^ Hepper (1994), p. 100.
  5. ^ Drinkwater (1905), p.246.

References

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  • Demerliac, Alain (1996). La Marine De Louis XVI: Nomenclature Des Navires Français De 1774 À 1792. Nice: Éditions OMEGA. ISBN 2-906381-23-3.
  • Drinkwater, John (1905) A History of the Siege of Gibraltar, 1779-1783: With a Description and Account of that Garrison from the Earliest Times. (J. Murray).
  • Hepper, David J. (1994). British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650-1859. Rotherfield: Jean Boudriot. ISBN 0-948864-30-3.